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Shah Rukh Khan was being harassed, was detained for 2 hours at Newark airport, recalls Rajeev Shukla: ‘Within 15 minutes, he was let go’

Rajeev Shukla recently commented on Shah Rukh Khan's detention at US airports and recalled the time when the superstar contacted him seeking help.

3 min readKochiJan 26, 2026 06:34 PM IST

Shah Rukh Khan shares a warm bond with Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Shukla. (Credit: X/@SRKUniverse, ShuklaRajiv)

Despite being one of the most popular and celebrated film stars in the world, Shah Rukh Khan has often faced in/direct attacks for his Muslim identity, the most notable being his detention at airports in the US on more than one occasion. Recently, Congress Rajya Sabha MP and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Rajeev Shukla commented on the same, revealing how he helped Bollywood’s ‘Baadshah’ when he was detained at Newark airport in the aftermath of 9/11.

Revealing that he was the one whom Shah Rukh Khan contacted when the incident happened, Shukla said during a conversation with news agency ANI, “Unhone phone isliye kiya tha ki random vo chal raha tha ki naam ko dekhkar kisi ka bhi baggage rok lete the (He called because at that time, random checks were going on, where they would stop anyone’s baggage just by looking at the name). They used to stop anyone and make them sit… After 9/11, you could not question security people at the airport.”

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He continued, “Their laws were so strict… toh unko (SRK) bhi harassment ho raha tha… Us din Janmashtami thi toj phone aayaa… aur vo keh raha ki ‘aise aise ye ye hua hai… Do ghante se baithaya hua hai’ (So Shah Rukh was also facing harassment. That day was Janmashtami when I got the call. He said that this and that had happened and that he had been made to sit there for two hours). I won’t disclose who I contacted or what actually happened, but… 15 minute mein Shah Rukh ka phone aa gaya hai ki unhe nikal diya hai aur sab saman nikal gaya (Within 15 minutes, Shah Rukh called back saying that he has been let go and baggage has been released).”

Following the 2009 incident, Shah Rukh had described the experience as “embarrassing.” Years later, he spoke about it in depth, maintaining that it was an uncomfortable situation. “It just was very uncomfortable. To land up somewhere and getting stuck in an airport for 2-3 hours for no reason at all,” news agency PTI quoted him as saying. “God forbid if there was a problem in India, I would be the first to say that we have to strengthen our security. One has to see it in a larger context, it’s a sign of the times. The world is that kind of place… you cannot hold grudges against people. We have to live with it and and just be prepared for some of this stuff,” he added.

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